Golden Eagles Sweep DePaul 3-0

Nov. 8, 2009

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University women's volleyball team swept DePaul 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-12) Sunday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center.

"Our whole team played really well today," said head coach Bond Shymansky. "It was good serving, good passing, good blocking and good defense. It just looked like really balanced volleyball. I was proud of our group today. It's so easy after a loss to just come out flat and just kind of question yourselves a little bit but we came out with fire and showed a lot of pride."

The Golden Eagles (16-12, 5-8 BIG EAST) were led by 15 kills from sophomore Ashley Beyer and 10 from junior Rabbecka Gonyo. MU combined to hit .423 (49-8-97) on the day and was led by freshman Carol Henney, who hit .800 (4-0-5) in very limited minutes.

A pair of service aces from MU setter Nikki Klingsporn propelled the Golden Eagles to an early lead in the opening frame. Beyer contributed six kills on nine attempts in the set, and freshman Kelsey Mattai added three consecutive kills towards the end of the set.

The Golden Eagles closed out the stanza with back-to-back blocks from Mattai, which pushed MU to a 25-13 victory.

A block from Mattai and a service ace from Gonyo gave MU an early 3-0 lead in the second set, but the Blue Demons responded with a pair of service aces to put them within one. From there, DePaul capitalized on the next three possessions to tie the score at five but struggled to balance the score after that point.

Mattai tallied three of her seven kills on the day in the second set, while freshman Danielle Carlson served nine straight balls, recording two aces in the span, to continue increasing the home team's lead.

Gonyo tabbed seven kills, one of which advanced the Golden Eagles to a set victory, and boasted an impressive .700 attack percentage. A combined team effort from the Golden Eagles ended the set 25-10, the fewest number of points the Golden Eagles have allowed in a set this year.

Out of intermission the Golden Eagles struggled to hold a solid lead on the Blue Demons, as the visitors recorded six of their nine total kills on the set in their first seven points.

MU made DePaul scramble as they proved their talents in the back row, registering 17 digs, with senior Hailey Viola chipping in seven. A long rally midway through the set gave Marquette a 15-7 advantage. Beyer contributed six kills, while freshman Carol Henney added four kills to lead the Golden Eagles to a 25-12 set victory.

Marquette returns to action Sun., Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center against Villanova.